AIR384 - Airfix 1/72 Blackburn NA.39 Buccaneer - WWWEB10102065

AIR384 - Airfix 1/72 Blackburn NA.39 Buccaneer - WWWEB10102065

Preowned, Original seal, Mint

The Buccaneer NA.39 was designed as the world's first purpose-built low-level strike aircraft — built to fly beneath radar and deliver nuclear weapons against Soviet targets at high speed and very low altitude. The airframe was extraordinarily strong by necessity, and the design included the distinctive rotating bomb bay and boundary layer control blowing system that gave it exceptional low-speed handling for carrier operations. It entered Royal Navy service in 1961 and later went on to a long RAF career including the Gulf War.

Airfix's kit dates to 1960 — one of their earliest jet subjects — and remains a piece of hobby history. Decals for prototype XK491. The kit includes working features that were impressive engineering for 1960: folding wings, rotating bomb bay, retractable nose gear, and a working arresting hook. By modern standards the cockpit is minimal and you can see through the intakes, but as a vintage collectible of a significant British aircraft it has considerable charm.